Content area
Full Text
Cultural competence and cultural humility are ongoing processes that healthcare professionals should continually strive for in order to provide effective and comprehensive plans of care for patients. METHODS: This 2-yr, longitudinal, educational pilot study describes the levels of competency in second-year entry-level physical therapy students and compares the outcomes of three teaching strategies for cultural competence and cultural humility. All students received a standard 2-hour lecture; study volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two enriched educational groups, involving a standardized patient or a paper case enrichment. RESULTS: Students shifted from initial levels of "culturally incompetent" and/or "culturally aware" to "culturally competent" as measured by the Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals-Revised. This shift was maintained after 1.5 yrs following the exposure. Because the enriched educational groups were underpowered, preliminary quantitative data are inconclusive, but qualitative feedback from students is strongly positive. DISCUSSION: A minimal dose of a structured 2-hr lecture with a skilled instructor, who creates a safe environment for cultural learning, produced positive shifts toward greater cultural competence. Five processes emerged for teaching cultural humility that may assist in designing comprehensive educational experiences on this topic. A framework for organizing course content is presented. J Allied Health 2016; 45(2):139-146.
DEVELOPING CULTURAL competence and humility is important for meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse population.1,2 Effective communication between patients and clinicians is positively linked to better patient satisfaction and care outcomes.3 The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) core documents recognize the importance of cultural competence (http://www.apta.org/Policies/CoreDocuments/), and the Blueprint for Teaching Cultural Competence in Physical Therapy Education4 provides an agenda for teaching it. Accreditation criteria for physical therapy (PT) programs include criterion C.C.-5-18, "Cultural Competence-Identify, respect and act with consideration for patients'/clients' differences, values, preferences, and expressed needs in all professional activities."5
Thus, PT programs are expected to address cultural competence. However, there is little evidence for the most efficacious teaching methods to deliver content or for the educational impact it has on student professional development. This paper presents current concepts of cultural humility and competence, a framework for organizing curricular content, and the outcomes of three teaching strategies for entry-level PT students.
Evolving Constructs
Definitions of cultural competence and cultural humility are evolving. Cross et al.6...